Publicly finance campaigns. Equal representation. Automatic Voter Registration. End lifetime court appointments.
Our system of elections is archaic. Perhaps it made sense for landed white gentry to represent the masses when women were considered to be property and Black Americans were counted as 3/5 of a person, but times have changed, and it\’s time for our electoral system to change too. Not only do we need reform in how we vote, but also in how campaigns and elections work. Today’s system requires a candidate to raise large amounts of money, often from special interests or corporations. Most Americans can\’t afford to put their lives on hold to run for office to represent the communities they live in – this often leaves wealthy people as the only eligible candidates, creating a skewed representation of America.
One elector in California represents 712,000 people while one elector in Wyoming represents 195,000. This means that one vote in Wyoming is worth 3.7x more than one vote in California. If we are to truly have government by the people and FOR the people, we must:
- End the electoral college, so every person’s vote counts – one person, one vote
- Create equitable representation in Congress: the state with the lowest population has one Representative, and all other states have proportional representation based on population.
- Implement automatic voter registration when a person turns 16
- Publicly finance campaigns by enacting a Democracy Dollars style plan
- End lifetime appointments to the Supreme Court; move to system that rotates District judges randomly, and expand to at least 15 voting Justices.
- Eliminate corporate PACs and corporate lobbying activities
- Make Election Day a national holiday to allow everyone the opportunity to vote